Fitzgerald Cocktail
I love F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ve read several of his stories, including Tender is the Night, The Last Tycoon and of course my favorite, The Great Gatsby. I’ve watched several TV shows and movies about the man as well as adaptations of his books. So, yes, I am a fan. I’m such a fan that I’m going to celebrate his birthday which just happens to be Monday.
While I could watch The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow – yes, I prefer the 70’s version over Baz Luhrmann’s more recent update – I thought I’d celebrate with a cocktail instead. I mean, what better way to honor one of my favorite classic authors than with a vintage cocktail named after him? There’s only one problem, this cocktail, isn’t a classic at all.
If it’s not a classic cocktail, you’re probably wondering why I’m blogging about it. Well, I originally found this drink on a post all about “forgotten gin cocktails“, and since it was listed with the Aviation and Gin Sour, I naturally figured it was another classic. But upon further research, I discovered this “forgotten cocktail” actually dates all the way back to… the 90’s. No, not the 1890’s, the 1990’s, which means it’s anything but a classic.
Turns out the drink was created by King Cocktail himself, Dale DeGroff, while he was slinging drinks at The Rainbow Room. He said he created this drink by simply adding Angostura bitters to a Gin Sour. He originally called it the Gin Thing. But then a patron who happened to be a fiction reader for The New Yorker was enjoying the cocktail and insisted DeGroff give the drink a classier name. DeGroff said that “since the Hemingway Daiquiri was on the menu at the time, she thought F. Scott should get some representation, too, so she suggested “The Fitzgerald.”” The name stuck and today we have the perfect drink with which to toast the classic author.
While, it’s not a vintage drink, it tastes like it could be. I mean, all the ingredients existed before Prohibition, its kind of a shock this drink didn’t. So, even though the Fitzgerald is a recent addition to the cocktail lexicon, it’s a drink that I intend to enjoy tonight, and again on Monday for my favorite fiction writer’s birthday. If you like the Gin Sour, you’re going to love this simple, easy twist. You’ll love it so much in fact, you won’t even care that it’s only about 20 years old.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 ounces gin
- 3/4 ounce simple syrup
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until chilled.
- Strain into a cocktail glass, float a thin slice of lemon on top and serve.
